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Trends in Foodborne Illness in the United States, 2012

Each year, foodborne illness, commonly known as food poisoning, affects about 48 million people in the United States. Food poisoning can happen anywhere, to anyone, and from foods we might not expect. Public health surveillance, such as that conducted by the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet), provides needed data for tracking trends.

FoodNet: Report Card for Food Safety

Each year, FoodNet reports on the changes in the number of people sickened with foodborne infections that have been confirmed by laboratory tests.

Foodborne diseases monitored through FoodNet include infections caused by the bacteria Campylobacter, Listeria, Salmonella, Shiga toxin-producing E.coli (STEC) O157 and non-O157, Shigella, Vibrio, and Yersinia, and the parasites Cryptosporidium and Cyclospora. The data collected by FoodNet also lets CDC, its partners, and policy makers know how much progress has been made in reaching national goals for reducing foodborne illness.

Highlights of the 2012 FoodNet Data

Data from FoodNet, which monitors 15% of the US population, provide the best measure of trends in foodborne disease in the United States. Overall, the 2012 FoodNet data showed a lack of recent progress in reducing foodborne infections and highlight the need for improved prevention.

Many Vibrio infections are acquired by eating raw oysters. These infections are most common during warmer months when waters naturally contain more Vibrio organisms.

Infections can be prevented by thoroughly cooking oysters and by not exposing wounds to bodies of warm seawater.

As a group, the incidence of infection with six key pathogens transmitted commonly through food (Campylobacter, Listeria, Salmonella, E. coli O157, Vibrio, and Yersinia) was not significantly different in 2012 than in 2006–2008.

Long-term Trends

Comparison with the first three years of FoodNet surveillance (1996–1998) shows some clear changes:

The incidence of infections caused by Campylobacter, Listeria, STEC O157, Shigella, and Yersinia has declined, mostly in the first years.

The overall incidence of Salmonella was unchanged, but the incidence of some types of Salmonella have increased while others have decreased.

Recent Efforts and Next Steps

Most foodborne illnesses can be prevented. Some progress has been made in decreasing contamination of some foods and reducing illness caused by some pathogens. Recent efforts to reduce contamination of food and prevent these illnesses include:

Establishment in 2011 of performance standards for Campylobacter contamination of whole broiler chickens in processing plants.

Approval of more stringent time and temperature controls for oysters after harvest to prevent Vibrio vulnificus infections.

More can be done. Determining where to target prevention efforts that will reduce foodborne infections requires continued collection of information to understand sources of infection, implementation of measures known to reduce food contamination, and development of new measures.